WS 12 - Preventing Dementia by Preventing Stroke

Worldwide, stroke and dementia account for 2/3 of disability adjusted life years (DALY). Rates are declining in developed countries and rising in developing ones, suggesting that the control of the common risk factors can affect the incidence of both. A stroke doubles the chances of developing dementia. A successful population level stroke strategy was associated with a 32% decrease in the incidence of stroke and a 7% decrease in the incidence of dementia.

Stroke (cerebral infarction) represents a compressed form of neurodegeneration that can cause or trigger dementia. The common mechanisms offer new therapeutic opportunities for treating both.

The World Dementia Council includes a platform for risk reduction of the common treatable risk factors underpinning stroke and dementia.

In principle, 90% of strokes are preventable and about 30% of dementias. If those developing dementia after a stroke are included, then about 50% of all dementia could be prevented beginning right now. Multimodal interventions have resulted in improvement in cognitive performance, anticoagulants cut the risk of dementia in atrial fibrillation in half, and a growing list of potential treatments await translation from promise into action.